Engine starter for remote-control toy car

ABSTRACT

An engine starter adapted to substitute for the traction rope type engine starter of the engine of a remote-control toy car is constructed to include a casing covered with a cover plate to hold a cushion, a driven bevel gear, a driving bevel gear, a locating block and a locating cap on the inside for enabling the starter rod of an electric auxiliary starter to be coupled to the polygonal coupling hole at the driven bevel gear and operated to start the engine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates an engine starter for remote-control toycar and, more particularly, to such an engine starter that can be usedto substitute for the traction rope type engine starter of aconventional remote-control toy car.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional remote-control toy car uses a traction rope type enginestarter to start the engine (see FIG. 12). It is difficult to start theengine with the traction rope. When operating the traction rope typeengine starter, the traction rope may break easily, or the user's handtends to be injured by the traction rope. Further, before starting theengine, the user must open the engine hood so that the user can startthe concealed engine. When started, the user must close the engine hoodagain to keep the engine from sight.

In order to eliminate the aforesaid drawbacks, electric engine startersare developed. A conventional electric engine starter is knowncomprising a platform carrying a motor, a switch, a transmission gear,and a power cord. During operation, the user must couple the crank ofthe engine to the transmission gear and connect the power cord to anexternal battery pack (for example, the battery power supply of a motorvehicle), and then switch on the switch to start the motor, causing themotor to turn the transmission gear and then the engine of theremote-control toy car. This design of electric engine starter is stillnot satisfactory in function because of the disadvantages of heavyweight and limited to the availability of external battery power supply.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,692,334B2 discloses an electric auxiliary enginestarter, which was invented by the present inventor. This design ofelectric auxiliary engine starter is functional. According to thisdesign, the electric auxiliary engine starter uses a starter rod forcoupling to a back center hole of the engine of a remote-control toy carto start the engine. However, this design of electric auxiliary enginestarter is not suitable for all designs of remote-control toy cars. Theoil tank or other parts of the engine of other designs of remote-controltoy car may hinder the insertion of the starter rod into the back centerhole of the engine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances inview. It is the main object of the present invention to provide anengine starter, which is practical for use to substitute for thetraction rope type engine starter of a remote-control toy car. It isanother object of the present invention to provide an engine starterthat can easily be installed in the engine of a remote-control toy carafter removal of the traction rope type engine starter of theremote-control toy car. It is still another object of the presentinvention to provide an engine starter, which can be selectivelyinstalled in the engine of a remote-control toy car in one of multiplemounting positions subject to the user's convenience.

To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the enginestarter comprises a casing; a cushion mounted inside the casing, thecushion having an axially extended center through hole; a driven bevelgear mounted inside the casing, the driven bevel gear having a polygonalcenter through hole axially aligned with the axially extended centerthrough hole of the cushion; a driving bevel gear mounted in the casing,the driving bevel gear having a polygonal coupling hole disposed at oneside thereof outside the casing and a coupling rod axially disposed atan opposite side thereof opposite to the polygonal coupling hole; alocating block mounted on the coupling rod of the driving bevel gearinside the casing; a locating cap fixedly fastened to the casing to holdthe driving bevel gear inside the casing for enabling the driving bevelgear to be rotated relative to the locating cap; and a cover platecovered on the casing to hold the cushion, the driven bevel gear, thedriving bevel gear, the locating block and the locating cap in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a front plain view of an engine starter according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along line B—B of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a sectional plain view of the cover plate of the enginestarter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a side view in section of the driven bevel gear for theengine starter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a front plain view of the driven bevel gear for the enginestarter according to the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a side view in section of the cushion for the engine starteraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a front plain view of the cushion for the engine starteraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a plain view in section of the driving bevel gear for theengine starter according to the present invention.

FIG. 5B is an end plain view of the driving bevel gear for the enginestarter according to the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a top plain view of the locating block for the engine starteraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a side plain view of the locating block for the enginestarter according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plain view of the locating cap for the engine starteraccording to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view in section of the engine starter according tothe present invention.

FIG. 9 is an elevational exploded view of the engine starter accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a sectional plain view taken along line B—B of FIG. 10B.

FIG. 10B is a side plain view in section of the present invention,showing the engine starter installed in the engine and the polygonalcoupling hole of the driving bevel gear facing downwards.

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing showing an application example of thepresent invention before insertion of the starter rod of the electricauxiliary starter into the polygonal coupling hole of the driving bevelgear.

FIG. 12 is a plain view of a traction rope type engine starter accordingto the prior art.

FIG. 13 is a schematic drawing showing the engine starter of the presentinvention installed in the engine of a conventional toy car afterremoval of the traction rope type engine starter from the engine withthe polygonal coupling hole of the driving bevel gear disposed at onelateral side.

FIG. 14 is similar to FIG. 13 but showing the direction of the enginestarter reversed.

FIG. 15 is a schematic drawing of a traction rope type engine for aremote-control toy car according to the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, an engine starter 100 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown comprising a casing 10, a driving bevel gear34, a driven bevel gear 24, a cushion 32, a locating block 40, alocating cap 50, and a cover plate 18.

Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, the casing 10 has a receiving open chamber12, two sliding grooves 14 axially symmetrically disposed at two sidesin the receiving open chamber 12, and a multi-angle hole 16 at thebottom side.

Referring to FIG. 2, the cover plate 18 has two sliding rails 20symmetrically disposed at two sides corresponding to the sliding grooves14, a multi-angle hole 22 disposed at the bottom side and complementaryto the multi-angle hole 16 of the casing 10 for forming with themulti-angle hole 16 a polygonal hole.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the driven bevel gear 24 has a polygonalcenter through hole 26.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cushion 32 is an annular member havingan axially extended center through hole.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the driving bevel gear 34 has a polygonalcoupling hole 36 disposed at one side, and a coupling rod 38 axiallydisposed at the other side.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the locating block 40 is a rectangularblock having a semicircular notch 42 at one side.

Referring to FIG. 7, the locating cap 50 is a polygonal cap fitting thepolygonal hole formed of the aforesaid multi-angle holes 22 and 16,having an axially extended center through hole adapted to accommodatethe driving bevel gear 34.

The assembly process of the engine starter 100 is outlined hereinafterwith reference to FIG. 8. The cushion 32 is fitted into the receivingopen chamber 12 inside the casing 10, and then the semicircular notch 42of the locating block 40 is attached to the coupling rod 38 of thedriving bevel gear 34, and then the locating block 40 with the drivingbevel gear 34 are inserted into the receiving open chamber 12 inside thecasing 10 for enabling the gear shaft of the driving bevel gear 34 toextend out of the multi-angle hole 16 of the casing 10, and then thedriven bevel gear 24 is put in the receiving open chamber 12 inside thecasing 10 and set into engagement with the driving bevel gear 34, andthen the sliding rails 20 of the cover plate 18 are respectivelyinserted into the sliding grooves 14, and then screws are used tofixedly secure the cover plate 18 to the casing 10 so as to hold thedriving bevel gear 34, the driven bevel gear 24, the locating block 40and the cushion 32 inside the receiving open chamber 12, and then thelocating cap 50 is fitted into the polygonal hole of the aforesaidmulti-angle holes 22 and 16, for enabling the gear shaft of the drivingbevel gear 34 to extend out of the axially extended center through holeof the locating cap 50.

When assembled, the engine starter can be installed in the engine of aremote-control toy car to replace the conventional traction rope typeengine starter. After removal of the traction rope type engine starter,the polygonal center through hole 26 of the driven bevel gear 24 iscoupled to the polygonal output shaft 52 of the engine of theremote-control toy car, and then the casing 10 is fixedly fastened tothe housing of the engine of the remote-control toy car (see FIGS. 10Aand 10B). When installed, the polygonal coupling hole 36 of the drivingbevel gear 34 faces vertically downwards for receiving the starter rod48 of an electric auxiliary starter 56 (see FIG. 11).

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the engine starter 100 can be so arrangedthat the driving bevel gear 34 is disposed at one lateral side such thatthe driving bevel gear 34 can be started by the starter rod 48 of theelectric auxiliary starter 56 from one lateral side. Either theaforesaid bottom or lateral side loading, the operation of the enginestarter 100 is free from the interference of the other parts of the toycar.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described indetail for purposes of illustration, various modifications andenhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except asby the appended claims.

1. An engine starter comprising: a casing; a cushion mounted inside saidcasing, said cushion having an axially extended center through hole; adriven bevel gear mounted inside said casing, said driven bevel gearhaving a polygonal center through hole axially aligned with the axiallyextended center through hole of said cushion; a driving bevel gearmounted in said casing and meshed with said driven bevel gear, saiddriving bevel gear having a polygonal coupling hole disposed at one sidethereof outside said casing and a coupling rod axially disposed at anopposite side thereof opposite to said polygonal coupling hole; alocating block mounted on the coupling rod of said driving bevel gearinside said casing; a locating cap fixedly fastened to said casing tohold said driving bevel gear inside said casing for enabling saiddriving bevel gear to be rotated relative to said locating cap; and acover plate covered on said casing to hold said cushion, said drivenbevel gear, said driving bevel gear, said locating block and saidlocating cap in place.
 2. The engine starter as claimed in claim 1,wherein said locating block is a flat block having a semicircular notchdisposed at one side thereof and forced into engagement with thecoupling rod of said driving bevel gear.
 3. The engine starter asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said locating cap is a polygonal cap fittedinto a polygonal hole at said casing.
 4. The engine starter as claimedin claim 1, wherein said casing has two sliding grooves symmetricallydisposed at two sides; said cover plate has two sliding railssymmetrically disposed at two sides and respectively inserted into saidsliding grooves in said casing.